


Link between brothers

by TheIceQueen



Series: Buttercreams and friends prompts. [12]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Medical, Medical Procedures, Pain, Sickfic, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 16:29:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15912021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIceQueen/pseuds/TheIceQueen
Summary: Prompt:Conor, Joe and Jack go out to go fishing. Jack passed a kidney stone. Despite the pain he tries to hide it until he goes into a renal colic.





	Link between brothers

 

The bike ride had been less than comfortable. Conor and Joe had had to stop and wait for him every few miles. It wasn’t a real pain, just a deep soreness that made his legs heavy and every move harder.

Jack had looked forward to this trip. He was not going to cancel for a bellyache. He’d canceled once because of the flu and Conor had had to cancel last time because of an important meeting. It would be winter soon and then they would have to wait even longer. Besides, the doctor had said that passing a kidney stone would be uncomfortable but not dangerous and he’d gotten some painkillers. He figured that sitting by the lake with a fishing rod couldn’t involve that much moving around anyway.

“Jack hand me the tarp for the bags.”

He’d been sitting on a big rock for a few minutes, trying to do as little as possible when rising the tent. He got up slowly, slightly worried about the building discomfort in his stomach, he grabbed the tarp and sluggishly held it up while Conor fastened it to a couple of trees.

The build in pressure turned into burning and he almost lost control over his right leg. He sat down against one of the trees and wrapped his arms around his stomach. Leaving, moving the bags to Joe.

“You okay there?” The tense shoulders on his brother and the strained breathing, didn’t sit right with Conor.

“Mmhm. Just a stomachache. I’m fine.”

When everything was done and Jack, in secrecy, had swallowed to more of the painkillers he’d gotten from the hospital, they headed for the lake. It was only about two hundred feet, but Jack was relived when he could finally sit and pull his knees up a bit.

After twenty minutes of Joe and Conor talking silently and Jack not doing more than the absolute minimum, Conor was beginning to wonder if Jack was alright. He looked pale and his breathing were not that much better, even when sitting down.

“Hey, Jack. Are your stomach still acting up?”

Joe, who hadn’t heard anything about this, looked from one brother to the other.

“Yeah, I guess.” Jack started to get up. It took longer than he would have wanted the boys to see. “I’m just going to lie down for a while.”

Conor and Joe looked curiously at Jack as he went back to the tent, but silently decided to let him rest for a while.

The first time Conor had been back to check on Jack, Jack had felt a little better. He’d almost fallen asleep on the sleeping pad, he’d pulled out into the sun. Conor had offered him some water and then gone back to the lake and Joe. Jack had rolled over and even with some of the pressure still there, he was able to enjoy the warm weather.

The second time Conor walked back to the tent and only half way there, he heard his brother whimpering. He picked up the speed and found Jack on his side, curled into a ball.

“Jack?!” The older Maynard fell to his knees in front of the younger and carefully rested a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Jack?!”

Jack grabbed Conor’s other hand and looked at him with scared eyes. Conor’s thoughts were already going towards ambulances and hospitals.

“It’s not dangerous.” Only air made it through his throat but Conor heard the whisper. “I’m okay.”

He wasn’t entirely sure that was the case, but he didn’t want to scare Conor more than he’d already done. Conor wasn’t buying it. Jack had trouble breathing and his hand clinging to Conor’s arm was shaking.

“You’re not alright. What is this?!”

“A kidney stone.”

A larger wave of pain made its way from Jack’s spine over his side and up to his ribs, and somehow it made his knees and hand’s hurt too. He pulled up his knees further and almost tore the arm of his brother. Conor moved closer and pulled his arm from Jack, only to grab his hand in a tight grip.

“You know for sure? Did you see a doctor?”

Conor couldn’t believe that a doctor would send someone in this kind of pain home, let alone allow them to go biking and spending the night in a tent. Jack nodded and pressed his forehead to their intertwined fingers, as a new wave hit him.

“Conor…” A little more than a whisper came through this time, but it only made both of them feel worse to hear the near crying tone carrying the word.

“How about painkillers?” Conor had to stop this, and soon. Before Jack’s hand crushed every bone in his and before the sight of his younger brother crushed every cell in his heart.

Jack shook his head. He’d taken all that he was allowed too. Tears were fighting to brake through when he though about how long he might had to go through this. “Can’t take more…” He looked at his brother, trying to signal that he couldn’t do this anymore. “…no more, for three hours.”

That’s it. No more questions. They couldn’t do this on their own. Conor turned his head towards the lake. “Joe! Joe, get up here!”

Conor didn’t think that he’d ever seen Joe run so fast. The sight that met Joe, confused him at first. He knew Jack wasn’t feeling well, but he didn’t get sick often, so he’d just thought it was from eating wrong or too much at breakfast or something like that.

“Jack…? Conor, what’s going on?”

Conor looked at the older guy, with worry painted over his face.

“He says it’s a kidney stone. Joe he’s in a lot of pain. Call an ambulance.”

Conor turned his attention back to his brother, while a still slightly confused dialed the number.

“Conor?” Jack’s open wasn’t looking at anything and his voice was back to a low whisper.

“Shh, Jack. Joe is getting help.”

Jack’s pain had been the same for a long time, but right now it seemed to let go, to a degree. He was able to breathe almost normally and loosen the grip on Conor’s hand a little.

Conor noticed the change in Jack’s appearance.

“How are you holding up?”

“I-I’m okay, I think.”

Jack looked at his brother, relived that the pain was bearable. He pointed to the front pocket of his backpack and Conor found an envelope with papers. He looked questionable at Jack.

“The doctor… It’s the one I should call if…”

“Conor!” Joe had walked away while talking on the phone and were now waving for Conor to come over.

Conor brushed a hand through Jack’s thick hair and smiled when Jack nodded for him to get up.

“What is it?” Conor wasn’t all the way there before asking Joe, who was still on the phone.

“They say it’s not an emergency if he’s already been cleared by a doctor.” Joe had been yelling at some poor lady on the phone for ten minutes. Normally he would feel bad for her, but not now. He’d seen the sweat building on his friend’s forehead and the white knuckles on the hand holding Conor’s.

White rage filled Conor and he was ready to pull the phone from Joe and give this person a piece of his mind himself, but then he remembered the papers in his hand. His shaking hand offered it to Joe.

“Call this one.”

Joe nodded and hung up without indicating to the woman that he would do so. Conor watched in silence as Joe dialed the number and they shared an apprehensive look when he was put on hold.

“C-Conor…”

If there hadn’t been total silence between Joe and Conor, none of them would have heard the pitiful cry from Jack. But they did, and it sent shivers down Conor’s spine.

When he dropped to his knees again Jack was sweating even more profusely, and he kept changing position from back to side and back again.

“Jack?! Jack, look at me!”

Conor placed a calm palm on his brother’s cheek, but Jack only looked at him with huge, glazed over eyes. Conor sat down, with his lags folded and pulled the trembling boy up close. Only two years older than his brother, Conor couldn’t remember a time where he’d had Jack sitting on his lap. Jack pressed his face to Conor’s chest, seeking another feel than the growing pain in his side, back and now crotch. It was burning, cramping and feeling like a knife was cutting him up all at once. He’d given up in finding a position where it’d hurt less. He’d might as well sit still, clutching on to Conor’s upper arm with both hands, letting his brother hug him tight.

Joe came over and the stone in his stomach doubled in size by the sight of the two of them, clinging to each other. He hunched down in front of them and put a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“The doctor sent someone to come help. He said that it’s not dangerous.”

Conor fastened his embrace of Jack, like he was protecting him from this crazy person. Jack was shaking, frozen in place in his lap and sweating from pain. Of course it’s dangerous.

Joe looked directly at Jack, worried that he didn’t look back at him. “Jack…? Do you need anything? Water or something?”

“N… no…” Jack took a few slightly deeper breaths. “Th-thanks.”

Conor felt Jack loosing strength and starting to go limp.

“Jack… Shh. Don’t talk okay?”

Jack nodded and pushed his face in a little further as a big cramp hit. Having his eyes open made him dizzy and nausea sat in.

“It’s alright, Jack.” Conor didn’t believe himself, and he was sure Jack could hear it in his voice. “Just squeeze my arm so I know you can hear me.”

Jack squeezed quickly to let Conor know that he’d understood. A small sense of relief rushed briefly through Conor’s body. He looked at Joe, who was still holding on to Jack’s shoulder.

“How long?”

Joe shook his head. “I don’t know for sure, they said up to half an hour.”

A small whimper escaped Jack’s lips, and tears broke from his eyes. Joe looked in horror as his friend broke down in front of him and Conor was doing his best to ease the situation.

“You’ll be fine Jack. Shh. Just hang on.”

“Con…”

That little syllable had more fear in it than either of the two older boys had ever encountered, and Conor’s eyes glazed over in a spilt second.

“Don’t be scared, little brother. It’s not dangerous remember?” Conor rocked his brother slowly back and forth and moved a hand up to cradle Jack’s head. “I’ve got you. Just hang on.”

Conor looked with despair at Joe and Joe nodded and walked away to call again. Tears fell from the older Maynard’s eyes as he rested his head on the top of Jack’s.

Joe was shaking as he talked to the doctor again. He’d finally been able to make them understand that this wasn’t something either of them could handle for half an hour. After he’d hung up the phone, he ran back to the brothers.

“Soon… Jack…” Joe was still winded from the panic, the run or maybe the wish to tell this as fast as possible. “They will be here soon.” He put a hand on Jack’s knee and even with the deafening sound of blood rushing through his head, Jack had heard him and squeezed Conor’s arm.

Five minutes were spent in silence except for the small whimpers coming from Jack. Conor had stopped crying, but the saline water soaking the fabric on his chest, kept coming.

When they heard the siren, Joe got up and lead them the right way in.

Strangers were pulling Jack’s arm. It wasn’t safe. Only Conor was safe right now. He didn’t dare to move; the pain could get worse.

“Jack. Hold my hand okay?”

Joe was trying to help and to his and Conor’s surprise, Jack accepted Joe as a part of this and took his hand. With Joe holding tight to his hand, Jack felt safe to move only his arm. Joe knew how much pain he was in, Joe would be careful.

The painkillers worked almost immediately, and Jack was moved to the gurney, but still holding tight to Conor’s and Joe’s hands.

Joe sat in the front and Conor went in the back with Jack. There was no sirens this time, and it calmed all of them that it had only been the pain that was needed to treat quickly.

“Jack…? How are you feeling?”

Conor got eye-contact with his brother and was able to smile for the first time in over an hour. Jack smiled back, but couldn’t hide the fact that he was worried about what this meant. He was too tired to answer. With the pain being almost gone, he was able to relax his body and he felt the exhaustion from tensing up for so long.

At the hospital, the doctor Jack had seen two days earlier, met them at the A&E. Joe had gone home to take the car and pick up their stuff by the lake. He’d said he’d come later.

They didn’t need more than an ultrasound to determine that there was a big stone stuck. Neither Conor or Jack got all the medical facts. What they did get, was that Jack needed some kind of procedure that wasn’t surgery, but radiation.

Conor who hadn’t let go of Jack’s hand took it upon himself to ask for the tired boy in the bed.

“Will it hurt?”

Jack held on tighter to Conor and the older brother placed a protective hand on their firm hold on each other.

“Normally, we do this with local anesthetic or light sedation, because it’s not comfortable.” Jack was already shaking his head and tearing up, he couldn’t handle any more. It was too much. The doctor looked at Jack and smiled. “…but in your case, with the amount of pain you’re already in and how big the stone is, I’ll suggest that you’ll sleep for the procedure.”

Jack’s hand loosening in Conor’s was enough to make him breathe freely. But one thing was still worrying Jack. He looked and Conor and then the doctor.

“Can Conor go with me?”

A big hole bored through Conor’s stomach. Jack didn’t feel safe to do this alone, he needed him there, but what if he wasn’t allowed? It would break both of them.

“I’m sure that can be arranged. It’s not surgery, so it doesn’t have to be entirely sterile. Someone will be in soon to drive you there.”

Jack hadn’t let go of Conor, he’d been so relieved that Conor could come with, but now the nerves had set in. What if something went wrong? Would he be in pain after? If he would let go of Conor, would they remember that they’d promised that he could come?

On the less than comfortable bed under a big gray machine, Jack was looking up at his brother, who had been told that he could sit at the end of the bed. Conor was brushing his hand through Jack’s hair. He could see that Jack was nervous, but as long as Jack was quiet and not crying, he figured he was doing okay.

A man, younger than the doctor, took hold of his hand and with a smile from Conor, Jack let go of his brother and accepted that the only contact would be a hand on his shoulder and one moving in his hair. The man said something and Conor saw the drug moving trough the IV in Jack’s arm. Soon Jack felt it.

“Conor…?”

Jack was ready to back out, but it was way to late and they both knew it. Besides, there wasn’t any other option.

“It’s all good little brother. I’ll be here the whole time.”

The small smile Jack sent back before closing his eyes, made Conor smile too, even though Jack couldn’t see it.

“Just sleep Jack. You’ve earned it.”


End file.
